1 Timothy 2:1-8
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A man had a habit of grumbling at the food his wife placed before him at family meals. Then he would ask the blessing. One day after his usual combination complaint-prayer, his little girl asked, “Daddy, does God hear us when we pray?”
“Why, of course,” he replied. “He hears us every time we pray.”
We are to be a praying people.
We are to be a praying people.
She paused on this a moment, and asked, “Does He hear everything we say the rest of the time?”
“Yes, dear, every word,” he replied,
This encouraged the Father that he had inspired his daughter to be curious about spiritual matters. However, his pride was quickly turned to humility at his daughter’s next question.
“Then Daddy, which one does God believe?”
This little story speaks to both our lives and our prayer. This passage does as well.
In this passage of Scripture,
We are going to find three things that We must be.
We must be a praying people.
We must be a godly people
We must be an evangelistic people.
We are to be a praying people.
We are to be a praying people.
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,
First of all.
At first glance, we may misread what Paul is saying here.
Paul is not beginning the argument here. He has said a lot already in the letter. This is not the first thing he has said.
First of all here means “Of primary importance”
In other words, before anything else, be sure to do this.
And then he is going to encourage Timothy to pray and to lead the church in prayer.
And just in these first three words, I’m convicted.
Paul says to Timothy that the most important thing he can do, is to pray.
How often do I/ do we get this backwards?
Prayer is the last resort rather than the starting point.
In fact, if you were to ask for prayer, people would automatically assume that something is wrong with you or your family. (For example: Post “please pray for me and my family,” and the majority of people are going to say something, maybe even text you, are you ok? Everything ok? I saw you asked for prayer.
Prayer for us has become more of cry for help rather than what it should be.
For the Christian prayer should be as natural as breathing. Its just what we do.
Spurgeon said…
“Prayer is a creature’s strength, his very breath and being.”
I read this quote about 6 months ago, and I began to ask myself:
I
In the last year, I was convicted of this.
As a young pastor, I came here at 25 years old. I felt like the best thing I could do for the church was to take every opportunity and time to teach.
So… on Wednesday Nights at 7, we had what we call Wednesday Night Prayer Meeting, but on those Wednesday Nights, we were praying at the beginning for about 3-5 minutes and then I was teaching or preaching for the next 30-35 minutes, and that was what I would call our prayer meeting.
Now, don’t hear me wrongly. I am not saying that Bible Study is bad or that teaching or preaching is bad.
I am saying that the absence of prayer in the church will leave us anemic, powerless. A lack of prayer reveals a prideful reliance upon our ownstrength rather than God’s.
I apologized to those who came to that Wednesday Night Service about six months ago, and we began to make Wednesday Night about prayer.
So on any Wednesday Night, what we will be doing is praying.
Forgive me
I encourage you to be here. I encourage you to be actively praying in your own walk with Christ during the week. Make it a priority.
Prayer is to be first of all.
He mentions 4 types of prayer here:
Entreaties
Prayers
Petitions
Thanksgiving
3 of the four words here can be translated as prayers.
But they are different types of prayers.
1. Entreaties-These are urgent requests.
We are essentially saying, “God, please help us.” These are prayers that we pray when we need God to act now.
Its in these moments we truly come to realize our inability and futility as human beings. We are fully reliant upon God.
The next term
2. Prayers- the general term for all prayers. Any kind of prayer offered up to God. it is important to note that all these words our plural. It tells us that many people should be praying.
3. Petitions- interceding prayer. This is praying for others.
Paul encourages this. He encourages prayer for others.
Thanksgiving- Prayers of gratitude. Thanking God for all that He has done.
4. Thanksgiving- Prayers of gratitude. Thanking God for all that He has done.
I’m convinced we lack thanksgiving in our prayer because we are convinced we are the reason for the good that has happened to us.
A lack of prayer reveals self reliance. A lack of prayer reveals pride.
Paul is calling Timothy and the church to pray and to pray specifically.
These prayers are to be prayed on behalf of all men, and there is a reason for the prayer.
We pray on behalf of all men. We pray for salvation. Are we faithful to do this? Am I faithful to do this?
Do we pray for people to be saved?
Are we asking other to pray for our lost family members?
A follow up question if we aren’t: Do we believe in the doctrine of hell?
Do we believe that there is an eternal place of conscious torment where people will be forever if they don’t believe?
Paul urges- he pleads- Timothy, pray. Church, pray.
Pray for all men to be saved.
We preach the Gospel to all and we pray for all.
He goes to mention specifically those who are in authority.
for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
Paul saying here that we should pray for those in authority so that our lives are not made miserable by anti-Christ and anti-Bible leaders.
Unsaved, ungodly, and unbiblical leaders normally put policies in place that aren’t exactly friendly to believers.
We see this all over the world. We pray for countries every Wednesday night who as a result of ungodly leaders are faced with persecution.
God calls us to pray that government leaders get saved. That’s what we’re called to do. Regardless of who or what party affiliation is represented in the White House, as believer Christ followers, we are to pray for them.
Because if by God’s grace, they’re believers, the possibility of religious freedom is better. And the possibility of living godly and holy lives with the benefit of sharing them with each other is there.
We are to be Godly People.
We are to be Godly People.
for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.
This lets us lead tranquil, quiet lives, in all godliness and dignity.
It enables us to be encouraged by a body of Christ without the threat of government.
And here is where we see the expectation of believers and their interactions with the world.
Essentially what Paul is saying is: Pray for the leaders of your country so that you can live godly lives.
We are to be peaceful people.
Peaceful among each other.
Quiet people.
We are to be godly people.
People of dignity.
He says all of this in verse 2.
And this is referring to how we act both in and outside the church.
These are terms that should describe Christians wherever we are and however we may be interacting.
This means we are to be peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified people in the work place. Wherever you work, there should be a difference in how we interact. Regardless if you are the boss or the first day worker, who we are in Christ is to show.
This also means we are to be peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified people in our homes. Some of you have people in your home and family who are not believers. They need to see a difference in our lives and theirs.
The people who are closest to us will be the first to point out and to see our hypocrisy. We need to kill sin and seek to live holy lives in the power of Christ’s blood. They need to see us repent of sin. Own it, and see us find rest in the cross.
This also means we are to be peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified people online, in text messages, and however else we interact with our cell phones.
One thing I have noticed about myself and others is that we are more willing to say hurtful something from a keyboard than we are in actual conversation.
Words hurt, and it absolutely matters what we say and do. May be you are one of those who you don’t care, you’ll say it to their face just as soon as you would through a keyboard. Keep in mind: We are to be peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified people at ALL times.
Perhaps it may be best before we post anything on facebook or write out any text message or say anything… It may be best to ask ourselves: Am I being peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified? Would Jesus sign His name to this?
Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
I’ll be honest with you. I need help with this.
Finally we need to be peaceful, quiet, godly, and dignified people as the church.
Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves;
Are we being peaceful and quiet as the church?
Are we seeing others as more important than ourselves?
Are we willing to serve the church or are we content to just sit back?
Praying for godly leaders is for the purpose of living a peaceful and godly life within the church and being able to serve each other enjoy the fellowship of each other without the fear of persecution.
Church we live in America we for the most part… its changing.... but for the most part we are able to live peaceful and godly lives.
The question is: are we doing that? As the church? Are we taking full advantage of the freedom we have to express our religion or have we become complacent to the point where God would be right and just to judge us for our lack of service, our lax attendance, our prioritization of everything else except the church?
We pray for those in authority so that we can live godly lives that are good and acceptable to God.
Church we need to be praying people.
We need to be godly people.
We need to be an evangelistic people.
We need to be an evangelistic people.
Finally, we need to be an evangelistic people. Look what Paul writes.
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The goal of every salvation prayer that we pray is that the person we are praying for would be saved.
Now. will all people be saved?
No. Paul is not teaching universalism.
Universalism is the belief that all people regardless of their view of God and what they believe will ultimately end up in heaven. That God desiring all men to be saved here means all men will. That’s not the case.
God’s desire is that all men be saved according to verse 4, but men and women who go against that will fully and finally will not be saved.
John Macarthur speaking on the will of God and this verse says this:
“The will of His heart desire, His moral will, is violated all the time by people, even by you and me. Whenever I sin, it is not God’s will. God does not will that I sin. Do I sin? Yes. So can I break God’s will? Yes. I do it all the time. So do you and so does the whole world. God wills and desires the salvation of all men from the moral viewpoint. That’s why He commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Endquote.
He desiring their salvation does not mean they come to faith in Christ.
We know that to be false.
And, Heaven and salvation are for those who believe.
Hell is for those who by their own actions and will reject God.
“Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”
Speaking of those who do not do God’s will, Jesus said:
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. “All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. “Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ‘For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ “Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ‘And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ‘When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ “The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ “Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ “Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
“These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Jesus told Nicodemus in
John 3:
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
We pray for all. We pray that every man we come in contact with would be saved by believing in Christ.
If they don’t judgment is already upon them.
Salvation is for Whosoever believes. The believing ones. and thats why we pray and we evangelize all.
And this is a good thing, because according to verse God we serve a God who desires all men to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth.
God says the same thing to Israel in .
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you. “Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,” declares the Lord God. “Therefore, repent and live.”
“Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, each according to his conduct,” declares the Lord God. “Repent and turn away from all your transgressions, so that iniquity may not become a stumbling block to you.
Ezekiel 18:
Ezekiel 33:
This is why we pray for all. We preach the Gospel to all. We call every man to repent and trust in Christ.
Will all these be people be saved? No.
Only those who believe, the bride of Christ, those who by the grace of God in his eternal purposes and by work of the spirit are raised from dead to life through the sovereign work of God. Those who believe will be saved. And thats God’s job. We preach to all, and He saves those whom he will.
Paul is calling Timothy and the church of Ephesus to have an evangelistic heart for all people, because all people are sinners.
He desires his message be preached, faithfully… and he desires that all men be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.
The question we are left with here is do we?
Do we share God’s desire for all people?
Do you share the Gospel with all people?
God doesn’t ask us to save anyone. He simply ask us to faithfully share and rest in the Sovereign work of the Spirit who according to
“The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
We don’t know who will be saved.
We know God’s desire.
For salvation
For obedience from us.
Are we being obedient?